Longview
by Schizophrenic-Pancake
Summary: The rise of a Hero that will shake Albion to its very core. Rated for eventual swearing and violence. I don't Own Fable, or the Green Day song's Name.
1. Tragedy and Resolve

Naruto of the Whirlpool

**Longview **

A fanfiction by Schizophrenic-Pancake

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fable, nor the land of Albion. I'm not making a profit for writing this. It is purely written in boredom and fun.

The sunlight streamed through the single room of the ratty farmhouse, spilling across the snoring face of a young boy of a mere eight years. In typical response, he turned over, giving a small groan and pulling rough woolen blanket over his head, blocking out the light and curling into the fetal position to try to recapture those lost memories of the pleasant dream he'd been having. He'd been the king of some far off land, wielding a mighty sword and slaying balverines that threatened his kingdom.

"Faolin", His father walked into the room, sighing as he went "It's time to wake up! Your sister is already up and finished with her chores." As response, another childish grunt escaped from beneath the bundle of covers that was Brom the Woodsman's son. He sighed, running a hand across a sweaty brow, as he took the covers in a single glove-covered hand and pulled them from over his son, revealing the offending son.

"Five more minutes father?", Came the hopeful voice as his son sat up, his brown hair spilling into his cyan eyes. A laugh filled the room as Brom ruffled his hair and held up two fingers. "I'll meet you in the fields in two minutes… Hurry up." The order was obvious as his father walked out the door and closed it behind him, leaving him alone once more.

Faolin stood up, stretching as he did so. The audible cracking of his spine was the only sound as he silently yawned and padded across to his closet where he pulled out a patched white shirt and his pair of old red pants. Clothes didn't make much difference to him, as he lived in the small hamlet of Oakvale, where there weren't many high classed people to make others feel fashion conscious.

After splashing water from a basin on his face and sufficiently waking himself, he made his way into the gardens, where his father already had begun working on correcting the rows that hadn't been plowed correctly. 'A mistake on my part', thought Faolin. He absently drug his bare feet through the cool earth as he made his way to his father. "What are we doing today?" Faolin's look was curious as his father glanced up at him.

"Today you're going to market with your mother, since your sister is off playing with her friends and there isn't much to be done in the Gardens." Brom gave his son a small wink, "You'd best mind your mum. You might get a surprise." The words were delivered with a sly undertone that made Faolin smile happily. His ninth birthday was soon. Maybe they had cracked and were finally going to allow him to attend the Heroes' Guild?

Hugging his father with dreams of becoming a hero in mind, he dashed off to find his mother, leaving a bemused Brom behind. "I wish I had half the boy's enthusiasm." With a shake of his head and a wistful glance skyward, he returned to correcting the rows in the garden. It would be a while yet before he had time for such rest.

It only took several minutes for Faolin to find his mother in the kitchen setting things in order for supper later that night. She had already set aside the ingredients for a stew when he rushed in. She glanced up, smiling at him as he skidded to a stop and got his breath back before asking if she was ready to go to Market. His youthful exuberance made her smile and kiss the top of his head before gathering the gold purse out of the cabinet and beckoning him to follow.

He rushed after her, gripping her free hand and looking up at her to smile a megawatt grin. It wasn't every day that he got to leave Oakvale to see Barrow Fields. The journey took half a day, there and back. Normally Theresa, his twelve year old sister, would accompany his mother to help her carry things and put things in order. Turning his attention to the dirt road ahead, he found himself humming a song under his breath and watching the birds flit through the birds on either side.

"Nice to see that you are so excited about helping your mother get groceries," Scarlet commented, looking down at her youngest child and smiling. His energy was admirable as he walked a little bit ahead, glancing through the foliage and pretending to be a mighty hero saving Albion from all manner of evil things. Honestly, she didn't know what to make of his ambition of being a Hero.

She herself had been an Arena Champion in her youth. Scarlet Robe, slayer of Balverines and the winner of the Guild's Arena had given her a reputation most would kill for. Yet she had traded it all for a quiet life in Oakvale with her husband and two beautiful children. Though she still had her skills from fifteen years before, her awareness of the world around her had greatly diminished, so she could not possibly had anticipated the arrow that flew through the air, piercing the wicker basket in her hand to a tree.

Turning her attention to the wooded area to her left, she wasn't really surprised to see a band of four bandits step out. She found herself rushing forwards, her dress gathered in one hand and jumping through the air to land a kick on one of them, knocking him back and into another one, dazing the two before narrowly ducking beneath a sword blade that nearly took her head. "Run Faolin! Get help!"

Turning back at his mother's frantic yell, he found himself sprinting down the road towards Barrow Fields. After all, they were more than half way there and there were plenty of Guards. "I'll be back mother!", he called back over his shoulder before picking up his pace and disappearing around a corner.

"You'll regret that." The gravelly voice came from a man that made Scarlet's face droop into confusion. "Jack?" her voice was hesitant as she turned to face the crimson cloaked masked man. "The one and only Jack of Blades," The evil was almost palpable as he disappeared from sight and reappeared behind the stunned Scarlet and sunk a dagger into her shoulder, splattering blood onto an earthy green cloak.

She stumbled forwards in pain, crying out in a small voice. "You'll be coming with me." The voice was distorted as she fell into unconsciousness, cursing the Jack of Blades as the sleeping potion the dagger had been dipped in took hold of her.

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It was half an hour later when Faolin returned with a band of Guards, leading the party at a dead sprint to the place where he remembered his mother being. The road was abandoned as he felt himself come to a sudden stop. His mother was gone. He stumbled forwards, ignoring the hands of the Guard who tried to grab his shoulders to keep him back. He fell to his knees beside the bloodstained cloth of his mother's green cloak. The leaf broach that had kept the cloak shut.

Hugging it as he cried himself into a faint, the Guards examined the site, looking all around the surrounding area for a sign of a direction in which the Bandits could have traveled with a hostage. But the whole area was empty of life and trails. Picking up the unconscious Faolin, they made their way back to Barrow Fields where more disturbing news was awaiting them. The small town of Oakvale had been razed to the ground by a large group of Bandits.

Laying the boy down in one of the Trader's tents, they made their way to their posts, reflecting on the news that they'd just heard. Something dark was stirring in Albion, and there had to be someone who could combat it.

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Faolin's dreams were filled with death and destruction. He walked through the streets of Oakvale, blood staining his bare feet as he made his way through all the fire to his home. It seemed to be the only building in all of Oakvale that wasn't burning with that ungodly red fire. A feeling of dread filled him as he dashed to his father's prone body and clutched it protectively, sobbing into the black cloth of the corpse's shirt.

As he glanced up, he saw a red cloaked figure staring down at him, beastly yellow eyes staring from a white mask. He could see the energy gathering around the man's fist as he held it out. The crackling of lightning filled the air as it arced towards him. It hit and pain racked his body for a second before he shot up, clutching at his chest and sweating.

They were dead. All of them. It was odd how clearly he could think as he pulled himself out of the tent, his mother's cloak draped around his small frame. Something urged him to search through the inner pockets of his mother's cloak. What he found was a small button-like coin with the seal of the Heroes' Guild. He stared from it to the Cullis Gate on the hill.

His mind literally stopped working for a moment as it tried to process why his mother would have a Guild Seal in the pocket of her robe. Had she known a hero? More importantly, why would a hero give their pass through the Cullis Gates to a farmer's wife? After all, hadn't his mother always lived in Oakvale? Straining his little eight year old mind, he began to cycle through early memories and set aside small details.

The arguments his parents would have at night about some sort of training came to mine right off the top of his head. At first he'd thought that they'd been arguing about sending him to the Heroes' Guild for training, but now that he thought back they seemed to be talking about his mother training someone. Scratching his unruly brown hair, he sighed. It didn't make any sense.

Then, the memory of earlier that day burst into his mind. He remembered seeing his mother kick a Bandit with startling force and moving with a deadly grace that he'd never seen. He remembered the awe he'd felt as he'd run to get help for his mother. From her tone, he remembered that she didn't seem to be worried about herself, so much as getting him out of there.

That fact would only make sense, since he would just be a distraction to her, which meant that she had obviously had training of some kind. Combined with the Guild Seal he'd found in her pocket, there was only one possible explanation as to the solution.

His mother had been a Hero! Staring at the seal, he made up his mind. He would make his way through the Cullis Gate and go to the Heroes' Guild! They had to help him. His mother had been one of them. Surely they would train her son so that he could avenge his family's murder?

Sneaking around the encampment, he gathered supplies in a burlap sack. Silently swearing that he would pay each and every one of the merchants back, he headed off with his mother's cloak bundled over his shoulders like a cape, a couple of cooked hams, some blankets, and a lamp. After all, if he was going through the cullis gate he wasn't going to have to pack heavily.

Making his way up the hill, he stared at the blue light of the gate, making a silent prayer to whatever gods were listening. "Please, let me reach the Heroes Guild." He stepped into the light and was whisked away from the quiet community of Barrow Fields and into his tale.

_(A/N):_ So there is the Prologue. I just finished playing Fable: The Lost Chapters and had the idea of telling the full story and not just what appears. Also, I changed things around a bit. I didn't really like how the Game began, so you can bet I'm going to go into more detail with the Heroes' Guild.


	2. Friends and Battle

Naruto of the Whirlpool

**Longview **

A fanfiction by Schizophrenic-Pancake

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fable, nor the land of Albion. I'm not making a profit for writing this. It is purely written in boredom and fun.

_(A/N): _Faolin's name is pronounced like it is spelled. I am rather unimaginative when it comes to names. . And that aside, here's the second chapter.

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Blue light blinded Faolin as he whistled through air, his body bending through time and space to allow long-distance travel. Seconds stretched into eternity as he saw a white light against all the blue and concentrated, rubbing his mother's Guild Seal and praying to Avo that it would be the Heroes' Guild and not a Bandit Camp. With a feeling like being stretched out, then being stuffed into itchy clothes, he landed.

Or rather, he could have sworn that he'd hit the floor, rolling end over end. Blinking distorted figures from his eyes and rubbing them with dirt-stained hands, the boy who craved to become a hero like no other found himself in Oakvale once more, barely a few miles from his home, and another few the other way from where he'd started. Pushing himself upright, he found the sights in Oakvale different from what he'd come to love and expect.

Deathly silence reined supreme, with only the faintest of calls of the carrion eaters feasting on the bodies of the farmers that had been massacred only hours before. Taking a tentative step forwards, he spun around in a three hundred and sixty degree angle, taking in what had once been the field where he and his sister had played hide-and-go-seek so many times.

Everything seemed to be coming at him through a smoke-filled haze now. His head swum with nausea, and twice he stumbled as he made haste to get back to the safety of the Cullis Gate. He could feel the skin on the back of his neck tightening, and the hairs standing straight up. His stomach clenched, as though some mighty giant had seized him around the midsection and was squeezing the life from him.

Dropping to his knees, his body shook once before a stream of bile came from his mouth and nose, making his eyes water, and his nose and throat burn with discomfort. It was an unpleasant feeling, to be sure, and for several moments, Faolin had expected to see an organ come from the depths of his body through his mouth. But banishing the thought, he tried to stop his thrice damned shaking.

Spitting once to try and be rid of the taste, he wiped his mouth and pushed himself vertical once more, fighting to keep his feet because of wobbling legs. His brain told him to go to the Cullis Gate, yet his feet were carrying him up the hill, towards the scorched bridge, and as hard as he fought, he couldn't resist the morbid thoughts that assailed him. Had his father been spared? And what of his sister, Theresa?

Picking his way warily across the covered bridge, he saw that his house looked as if the great hero Thunder himself had torn into it. The front door was laying ten feet or so from the hinges, and the frame appeared to have shattered and caved inward by some brute force. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of his father flinging outlaws through it, brandishing a work pick and a ranging ax. Then the scene switched to his older sister Theresa being thrown through the frame by a brute who walked out, an evil smile on his-

Shaking himself, Faolin sprinted the twenty some odd yards, and leapt through the door, taking in the carnage that had once been his home. Already it was harder to see without the moonlight above to guide him, so fumbling along, he found a torch that a raider must have left in some forgotten hurry, and then pulled flint and steel from his mother's cloak.

Striking the flint against the steel, Faolin held his breath before the torch caught, casting wavering shadows as he stared down at the floor, finding his family's books torn and scattered across the floor. Straw from the beds seemed to have migrated throughout the house, the boy noticed as he stepped over broken glass before stopping in the kitchen.

There was a hole about the size of a pony in the side of the wall. Staring through the hole, blue eyes widened in realization of what was outside the hole. His father! Running through debris, he ignored the glass shards the crunched beneath his feet, and the splinters that stuck into the soles of his bare feet. Right now he was in a whole other world. His father wasn't lying broken outside the kitchen wall, rather sleeping on the grass, waiting for him to show up.

Jumping across the threshold, Faolin slid to his knees beside his father, staring into sightless blue eyes. "Father?" The voice was timid, afraid. He repeated himself, but that time his voice broke off midways. Tears filled his sky blue eyes, speaking of endless sorrow. Searching about, he found a Butterfly bladed ax that he'd never seen before. Half crawling-half dragging his way to it, he grabbed it, feeling a shiver as it seemed to writhe in his grasp before seeming to rest lighter in his grip.

'Odd', he'd thought as he picked it up, pushing himself to his feet with it as he'd done so. The ax itself was taller than him by about three head, measuring at about six feet, yet it felt deceptively light. Looking up at the silver-steel blade, he knew instinctively that it was no bandit's weapon. It could only have been his father's, or his mother's.

Dragging it behind him, he looked up, seeing that his father had fallen under the Weeping Willow. Finding some bit of irony in that, the boy looked once more to his downed father. It was a miracle the crows hadn't feasted on him yet. The thought of leaving his father exposed to the elements somehow alarmed him, pushing him to drag him a short ways away before scurrying back to the house, only to return several minutes later with a broken shovel in his hand.

An hour's toil was rewarded by a shallow hole in the ground. Looking with disgust at his handiwork, Faolin threw himself whole-heartedly back into digging, ignoring the blisters that were beginning to rise on his palms and fingers. What mattered now was a final honor to his father. A place where he wouldn't wash away in a storm, nor be dug up by a hungry wolf.

No, none of that will do, had been the thought crossing his mind the whole time he dug. Another hour's toil had found Faolin standing in small, but suitable grave. Throwing the shovel aside, the boy leapt from the hole and walked inside to grasp at sheets that were stained in blood, and pulled them outside. He'd have to be quick now. The sky was lightening now, the navy blue-black fading to a rich purple.

Wrapping his father in the sheets, and with some unknown reserves of strength and determination, picked him into the grave, covering him with rich soil. After searching for a few moments, Faolin had found several torso-sized rocks and dragged them to the grave, putting them on top of the recently-dug grave, and then found some smaller rocks to circle the area with.

All in all, he'd made sure his father's memory would be proud of him as he passed through Avo's gates into Paradise. By now, the deep purple had faded to a rosy pink color, bringing with it the first rays of the sun to illuminate the horrors of the raid in their entirety. Dragging the ax once more, he made to lay it on his father's grave, yet some thought that was completely foreign to him stopped him in his tracks.

It would be foolish, a voice said in the back of his head. Foolish to waste it on some honorable ceremony for a peasant, it continued. It was right. It looked like it was worth hundreds of thousands of Gold Marks. Why put it where some villager would nick it?

No. He would keep it in memory of what happened at Oakvale, he decided. The sounds of conversation reached his ears as he made to step onto the main path, "-But there haven't been any Bloody survivors! Why do we have to be up so awfully early?" the complaint was loud, and so dreadfully of a guard. That was the last thing he wanted right now.

Setting off at a quick pace down several game-trails that his father had shown him, he found himself grimacing with each step, and the ax seemed to be getting heavier and heavier. He tried to drop it, but his hand wouldn't obey the command. Almost in a panic, Faolin felt adrenaline flood his system once more and burst from a side path, the Cullis gate less than a hundred yards ahead.

His lungs burned, and his arm felt as though it were on fire. Frenzied shouts from down the path caused him to jerk his head to the side, spying a group of Guards and volunteers that had been picking through the wreckage that had been a baker's home.

Running with his odd limping hobbling skip, he could feel air from the pursuit on the back of his neck as he dove towards the cullis gate, pitching forwards, the ax making him land on his back in the middle, its silver head not quite on the glowing blue surface.

Jerking it on just in time , he didn't have the satisfaction of seeing the looks on their faces as he went once more, tumbling through the lights of the Cullis Gate's teleportation device. This time however, it seemed different. Calmer. Fixing a single thought in his head, he concentrated. _Heroes Guild! _In a flash of light, he was lunging through open air with the speed only select few animals are capable of obtaining. The feeling was different this time though, like being shoved into a cold pond then jerked out suddenly.

Before he could comprehend what had happened, he found himself rolling forwards, landing in an instinctive crouch, the Butterfly bladed axe holding him upwards with its black ash wood handle. Lost from the world was he, in his memories he dwelled, begging his mother and his father for entrance into the Guild as a birthday present. As a way to make money to survive.

When he snapped from his stupor, he noticed that there was a large group of Guild Apprentices and even the Guild Master himself looking at the poorly dressed boy who'd just come tumbling through their Cullis Gate. Something that only a Hero should be able to do. They seemed to have been stunned to silence, a slack-jawed expression seemed to have been the most common.

"I made it…" Faolin's voice was full of wonder as he pushed himself to his feet and ignored the stunned whisperings of the Guild Apprentices. It wasn't them that he'd endured that painful transportation to see. They weren't worthy enough for him to spit on after his ordeal. Immediately stumbling his way to the Guild Master, he fell to his knees and bowed. "I need to become a Hero!" The words echoed through the hall.

The Guild Master was taken aback when he reached for the Master Seal in his pocket and used it to decipher who's Seal the Boy had. Scarlet Robe. The Image of a Scarlet clad woman flashed through the Guild Master's mind as he blinked. Taking in the sight of the massive ax that the boy had dragged behind him, he schooled a bubbling sense of danger. Staring down at the boy, he found himself folding his arms behind him and letting a pensive expression glide across confusion. "Why would you wish to become a hero?"

"My mother was a Hero, Guild Master sir." It wasn't a complete lie, just a half truth. His blue eyes turned upwards, reflecting desperation to the old man with the Guild Seal branded on his forehead.

"Scarlet Robe. Excellent Hero. But that is hardly a reason to become a Hero." The Guild Master had caught the slight hitch in the boy's voice when he had given his explanation. It left him with a question, "But that's not the only reason, is it?"

A strangled sob escaped the boy as tears clouded his eyes and the story came tumbling out, all of it. He told of how his father had woken him from bed, of how he had been chosen to go to the market with his mother, and even how he'd run like a coward to get help instead of helping his mother himself.

At the end of the tale, the Guild Master stared down at the boy, who was almost unconscious with grief and fear. And perhaps the most potent of them all, fear of rejection from the Guild. Turning his gaze to a new Apprentice, he nodded. "Briar, meet your new roommate." The room had gone silent during the lad's heart wrenching tale, and with his proclamation it burst into hushed whispers.

Turning his head back to the boy, whose eyes were barely open, he smiled. "You'll be rooming with Briar Rose, one of our most promising young pupils. She will lead you to your room. I would suggest turning in." The dismissal was evident as the Apprenticed named Briar grabbed him by the elbow and gently guided him up the stairs and to the bed, where Faolin let himself fall into unconsciousness.

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Visions of death and destruction haunted Faolin's dreams as he tossed and turned, kicking out as the covers bunched around his legs like the ropes of his dreams. A low moan escaped his mouth as he was dipped into a painful vat of melted tar and was then covered in feathers. Apparently, Bandits were an unimaginative bunch when it came to torturing children.

Looking over, he saw nothing but air. But as he let his eyes fall unfocused, he saw his sister appear next to him, smiling with her eyes closed. "Hello Brother." Her voice sounded a bit strained, despite the happy smile that adorned her face. "Theresa!" His shout was frantic as he somehow turned her to the side. "You escaped. You are far luckier than I in fate." As the words left her mouth, she opened her eyes… And he screamed. Instead of her normal Sky Blue eyes, he saw only empty sockets.

Rolling out of his bed and into the fetal position, Faolin found that it was daylight. He pushed himself to his feet, grimacing as his back popped when he stretched. He let his eyes wander the room with no small amount of interest. He saw cases filled with books and eagerly ran towards them, cycling through the titles and authors before letting himself lose interest.

It was only then that he noticed that he wasn't alone in the room. There was another bed, and since he was from a farming family that was normally up at the crack of Dawn, he found himself going through the motions of what he did with his sister, shaking a girl that seemed to be four years his senior awake. "Wake up!" However, the one thing he didn't expect was a backhand that sent him backpedaling.

"What's the big idea Runt?" The voice was feminine, yet held an edge he'd never heard in a woman's voice. "Training doesn't start until eight." Briar sighed in frustration. She turned her deep green eyes on the boy who'd wakened her and felt immediately sorry. Though he wasn't outright crying, she seemed to have hurt his feelings. "I'm Sorry."

Faolin had been clutching a red mark on his left temple that would surely bruise, trying not to let his watering eyes show. After all, he was going to be a Hero! "It's fine… Things are different from home." The observation made Briar's heart go out to him. Her family hadn't been killed, but she did know the pain of transition from a lifestyle completely different to that of a Guild Apprentice.

Looking over at the boy, she sighed. "I'll show you the dining hall. Follow me." The order was evident, and despite their initial meeting, he was still happy that she was going to show him around the Guild, even if it was just because the Guild Master had ordered her.

It took a brief scuffle in the room on the subject of Faolin bringing his massive ax to breakfast, which Briar seemed strangely opposed to, and several moments for the duo to reach the dining hall from their room on the other side of the Guild. Briar immediately took a seat to the left of a green haired Apprentice and fell into conversation with her. Faolin however, just stood at the bottom of steps, looking at all the other Apprentices and feeling just a mite overwhelmed, and though he wouldn't admit it: Intimidated.

"Come on Runt!" His roommate's voice was a mixture of agitation and exasperation. Smiling to himself he hopped onto the stool next to Briar and nodded happily. "My name is Faolin… What's yours?" Curiosity had overtaken Faolin's ravenous appetite for a moment. "Briar Rose, future Hero." The reply was curt, and to the point as she fell onto a meal of Bacon, Eggs and Toast.

"Don't mind Briar. She eats like she's seen a ten year famine and can't be bothered to introduce herself properly." The voice came from Briar's right. The Girl with green hair smiled nicely and pointed to herself, "My name is Anlynne Rosewood. I'm an Apprentice in Briar's age group, and it's a pleasure to meet the son of Scarlet Rose." She offered a hand behind Briar's back, which he shook. "Now, I'd suggest you'd eat up. Guild Master is going to want to test you for placement."

Faolin smiled at her and nodded his thanks before turning to his own plate and loading it up with plenty of scrambled eggs, salted ham, and toast. For the rest of the time they were in the Dining Hall, breakfast was a quiet affair, with only the occasional scrape of a knife or fork across the glass surface of the plates. Covering his mouth with a napkin to hide a belch, Faolin dropped the napkin on his cleaned plate and with a muttered "Excuse me", turned to Briar Rose and Anlynne. "Can we go find the Guild Master now?"

With a sigh, Briar finished eating her third plate full of food and looked up at him. "I guess we could see if he's still instructing the Apprentices in Melee ring." She stood and motioned for Anlynne and Faolin to follow before setting a brisk pace to the Melee ring.

Faolin, though he would never admit it, was hard pressed to keep up with the pace the two older girls kept. He had to run to keep up with their fast walk, and he was sure Briar knew it. However, his trip was cut short as Briar finally stopped at a wooden fence that surrounded a dirt circle. It was there that he saw the Guild Master watching him, a look of thought showing clearly on his old face.

"Faolin. Get in the Ring for a moment." His tone brooked no argument, so the young boy did so with no argument, vaulting over the top rail easily. "Now, I want you to try to score as many hits as you can on your opponent." At that, Faolin's look turned to that of Childish confusion. "For your placement, I'm going to place you in practice bouts against students of varying age-groups and find where to place you." At this, Faolin nodded and sighed.

He had no combat experience! Was the Guild Master just going to get his hopes up and then dash them out in some spectacular fashion in front of everyone? As he was stuck deep within his thoughts, he had called out his first opponent. He was snapped out by an annoyed Briar's voice. "Pay attention Runt!" Turning his gaze to where the Guild Master was, he noticed a darkly tanned girl about his age leaping towards him with a staff. Not knowing what to do, he held his hands up, trying to block the attack.

The blow jarred him, sending him to his knees with the sheer force the move was executed with. Shaking his head, he tried to push away the dizziness that had accompanied the crack to his hands. Stumbling to his feet, he dove to his left, just narrowly avoiding a blow that would have knocked him unconscious. Rolling quickly to the side, he narrowly avoid a painful blow to the chest and head area before letting survival instincts kick in.

Rolling backwards, he planted his feet, and then as she lifted the staff, leapt towards her midsection. The hit was solid, and sent them both tumbling with the staff flying through the air and landing end first on the ground. Maneuvering with some instinctual force guiding him, he pinned her beneath him and punched her hard enough in the cheek that he could have sworn he heard a tooth break.

And as he reared back for another punch, her legs came up and grasped him around the neck throwing him off and leaving him to roll backwards as she sat up and massaged her jaw, spitting blood as she did so. Raising herself to one knee, she calculated the distances between the boy and herself, and then herself and the staff. However, Faolin's mind was in a similar place, and so they both took off at a dead run towards the only weapon in the Melee ring.

She grasped the staff triumphantly and went to pull it from the ground, only to find that something was holding it down. Faolin had dove at the last second, catching hold of the staff so that it couldn't be moved. What he didn't anticipate was for her to slam a booted foot on his forehead and nose, making a fleshy pop resound and blood begin to pour from his nose. Blinking tears from his eyes the young Apprentice braced himself against the staff and used it to pull himself up. Slamming his fist into his left eye, he gave a cry of outrage and kicked her in the breadbasket before jerking back on the staff.

As he completed those actions, her grip on the staff had loosened and as he jerked it, the staff came free in his hands. With the undisciplined swing of a child swinging a tree branch, he swung for the fences, only to connect with thin air as the girl ducked the blow. As she did so, he overbalanced himself and had to use the tree to hold himself upright. Never one to miss an opportunity, she slammed her foot on the staff, breaking it in half and sending him rolling with one end.

Faolin didn't know what had happened. One second he'd had a staff, and the next all he had was a half. Raising his half, he felt a jarring hit score through the whole stick. He almost dropped it, but gritted his teeth and thought of the bandits that had taken his mother and destroyed Oakvale.

With a renewed vigor, he leapt at the tanned girl, swinging left and then pivoting sloppily on his left foot to turn to the right and slam his right shoulder into the girl's abdomen. He could feel the air leave her lungs as she stood, bent over. Tightening his grip on the staff, he swung, and with a deafening _crack! , _Knocked her unconscious. "Dead," He said, announcing that he'd won the encounter before leaving the ring.

The Guild Master looked at him in a curious manner, but decided against making any comments. Instead, he placed a hand on the boy's forehead and used a Healing Spell to heal his broken nose. "An excellent bout, young Apprentice." Faolin felt his heart soar with the man's praise. "But your tactics were sloppy, and if you hadn't gotten in that lucky shoulder shot, you would have lost for sure." His blue eyes found the ground very quickly, feeling a sinking feeling growing in his chest. "You're going to be placed in Whisper's training group. You could benefit from her strict regiment."

With a smile, he nodded to the unconscious girl, "And likewise she could benefit from your improvisations." With an amused shake of his head, he walked into the ring and teleported Whisper and himself to the medical bay. As they left, Briar and Anlynne rushed towards him, only the latter smiling while Briar seemed to be wearing a look of agitation.

"That was Amazing Faolin!" Anynne's voice held a tinge of wonder as she clapped a hand on his shoulder and then pulled him into a hug. "I got lucky." His tone was slightly breathless as he began to turn purple in the face. Tapping her on the back, he tried to escape the vice grip of one Anlynne Rosewood. Realizing she was slowly choking him out, she stopped and held him at arm's length before looking over at the snickering Briar.

"So the Runt got lucky. He's only in the intermediate class." With a motion to follow, she led them both to the Demon Door and struck a wooden match. Lighting a cigarette, she sat down and leaned against the ancient door that had a face. As his eyes traveled from Briar in shock, Faolin then noticed the door staring intently at him. "Scary"

()()()()()()()()()()()()

And so his first day at the Heroes' Guild had ended, and with it, the rumors of Whisper's defeat at the hands of a Raw Recruit was spread all across the Guild. His second day at the Guild and he'd made two friends, and though he hated to admit it, an enemy.

_(A/N): _So how was the Second Chapter? I wasn't so sure about the fight scene, but I made due with it. And I'm not sure of Briar Rose's Age, so I just manipulated that to suit my needs. Honestly, I wasn't all that happy with the way it came out at first, but with the addition of the weapon, I think I'll be able to add more depth. Brownie Points to who can guess where I go the idea for that particular Weapon.


End file.
